Experts warn smart phone, tablet, computer owners to restore factory setting before selling

PITTSBURGH — Experts say there's a simple step that most people aren't doing to protect their personal information on computers, smart phones and tablets.

Susan Norton swore her new Kindle Fire came in the manufacturer’s box that had never been opened.

However, the first time she bought a movie and downloaded a book, something seemed odd. She did it without entering her credit card number.

“I thought for that amount they would ask me for some information,” she said. “It did not and said your purchase was complete.”

Norton opened the Kindle’s account file and discovered someone named Margo had owned the tablet first and there was a treasure trove of Margo’s personal information.

“All her account information, her address, her email address, her Mastercard were already on the Kindle,” she said.

Norton canceled the charges.

Raj Rajkumar is a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. He said before you sell a used electronic device to make sure you delete all your data.

“You have your videos, your calendar, your pictures. You have notes, reminders, maybe some passwords even there because we carry them around all the time,” Rajkumar said.

Each device has its own way to reset factory settings.  For example, with a Kindle you click on an option that says ‘reset to factory defaults.’

Susan’s Kindle came from a Sam’s Club but the manufacturer is Amazon and it is now investigating why the Kindle had not been wiped clean, and how an old one was sold as new.

WPXI